then again

phraseB2informal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

Then again introduces a thought that argues the other way. You said one thing and now you are undermining it.

It is a marker of somebody thinking aloud, which is why it belongs to speech far more than to writing, and it usually follows a pause. It opens a sentence. The phrase is a small piece of honesty, since it admits that the first thought was not the whole picture. On the other hand does the same job more formally, and but then is the shortest version.

Definitions of then again

1phrasethen againUsed to introduce a consideration that qualifies what was just said.B2
“I would take the job. Then again, the commute is impossible.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Small Talk & Everyday Phrases

First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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then again

phraseB2informal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

Then again introduces a thought that argues the other way. You said one thing and now you are undermining it.

Definitions of then again

1phrasethen againUsed to introduce a consideration that qualifies what was just said.B2
“I would take the job. Then again, the commute is impossible.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Small Talk & Everyday Phrases

First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word